While there are many poker-type games that can be played on the Internet, practically all of them offer the same wagering options, and many of them are canned or preprogrammed. As racetracks have expanded their reach with off-track betting, casinos can dramatically increase revenues by enabling play online. While wagers can be placed on horse races in various racetracks around the country and the world online and in real time, such system are not available for other live play in the casino. U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,552 (Vuong) discloses a network based gaming system that enables a plurality of players to place wagers on a real-time game of chance being conducted in a casino via a distributed network system or, alternatively, to place wagers on a game of chance using internally generated game sequences. In the preferred embodiment of the system, a gaming machine provides a menu of a plurality of live-action board games of chance, such as roulette, craps or baccarat.
Many people enjoy poker but lack the skill or the bankroll to play in a high-profile game. Some people are uncomfortable in a crowded casino, particularly, alone prime time in the bigger casinos. The air is smoke-filled, heavy drinking is common, the crowds are shoulder to shoulder, people become separated, and space at gaming tables is rare.
Once gaming information is captured on current gaming activity, quality online play becomes a reality. Each online player directly enters his playing decisions (hi/lo, winning player or best cards, player, value) into the gaming computer through a keypad. Once the hand is completed, the gaming computer knows all relevant information about the game in progress. This information is used to provide the online player with historical information about the players and the game.
Poker is now the most popular card game because of television. On almost any evening, there is at least one poker tournament on cable television—usually “No-Limit Texas Hold'em.” In the No-Limit version of Texas Hold'em, any participating player can wager any portion of his chips at any time. There is also a Limit version of Texas Hold'em, where there are limits to the amount of the wager. The use of windows and cameras located in front of each player enables the game to be broadcast and the home viewer can watch each player as the cards are dealt each round.
Texas Hold'em is the most popular form of casino poker. It has been popularized by televised poker contests such as the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker, which have brought many new players to the game. Texas Hold'em is easy to learn, but it boasts intricate strategy and requires practice, skill and cunning to play well. Yet, the lower limits of the game are forgiving enough to new players, and with a plethora of online poker rooms, it is very easy to learn and practice the game while wagering little or no money. Texas Hold'em is a community card game. Every player is dealt two cards face down, and then five community cards are dealt in the middle of the table. The five community cards may be used by every player.
A Texas Hold'em poker game proceeds as follows:                The betting structure can vary, but most games start with two players placing out a predetermined amount of money so there is an initial amount to play for, which is referred to as “blinds.” These players are the two to the left of the dealer, and the deal rotates clockwise after each hand. The dealer shuffles from a complete deck of 52 playing cards. Each player is dealt two cards face down (the pocket). There is then an initial round of betting starting with the player to the left of the two who posted the blinds. The amount bet depends on what kind of game it is. Much like most games of poker, players can call, check, raise, or fold. The dealer then deals three cards face up. These are community cards that anyone can use in combination with his two pocket cards to form a poker hand. There is another round of betting starting with the player to the left of the dealer. After the betting concludes, the dealer flips one more card onto the table. Players can use this sixth card now to form a five-card poker hand. The player to the left of the dealer begins another round of betting. Finally, the dealer places a final card face up on the table. Players can now use any of the five cards on the table or the two cards in their pocket to form a five-card poker hand. There is one final round of betting starting with the player to the left of the dealer. Then, all of the players remaining in the game begin to reveal their hands. The player who shows the best hand wins!        